2018 Tax Brackets
For 2018, the Tax Brackets is 12% (12% rate), $19,050 (12% rate, married couples), 22% (22% rate) and 16 more figures below.
| Item | Rate | Married couples | Single taxpayers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12% rate | 12% | $19,050 | $9,525 |
| 22% rate | 22% | $77,400 | $38,700 |
| 24% rate | 24% | $165,000 | $82,500 |
| 32% rate | 32% | $315,000 | $157,500 |
| 35% rate | 35% | $400,000 | $200,000 |
| 37% rate | 37% | $600,000 | $500,000 |
| 10% rate | 10% | - | - |
A dash is a figure this site has not published for that row, not an amount of zero.
Effective 2018-01-01Source: Rev. Proc. 2018-18 (Internal Revenue Bulletin 2018-10) (IRS)Verified 2026-09-01
Who it applies to
Individual taxpayers filing federal income tax returns for tax year 2018
What changed this year, and why
The IRS established seven federal income tax rates for 2018 under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. These rates and their income thresholds apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017.
Common questions
- What are the 2018 tax rates?
- The 2018 federal income tax brackets use seven rates: 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, and 37%. The rate that applies depends on your filing status and taxable income.
- What are the income thresholds for married couples filing jointly?
- For married couples filing jointly, the 10% rate applies to income up to $19,050. The 12% rate applies to income over $19,050 up to $77,400. The 22% rate applies to income over $77,400 up to $165,000. The 24% rate applies to income over $165,000 up to $315,000. The 32% rate applies to income over $315,000 up to $400,000. The 35% rate applies to income over $400,000 up to $600,000. The 37% rate applies to income over $600,000.
- What are the income thresholds for single taxpayers?
- For single taxpayers, the 10% rate applies to income up to $9,525. The 12% rate applies to income over $9,525 up to $38,700. The 22% rate applies to income over $38,700 up to $82,500. The 24% rate applies to income over $82,500 up to $157,500. The 32% rate applies to income over $157,500 up to $200,000. The 35% rate applies to income over $200,000 up to $500,000. The 37% rate applies to income over $500,000.
The bracket rate is not the rate on all your income
The 2018 federal tax brackets use marginal rates, meaning each rate applies only to the portion of income within that bracket's range. For single filers, the 10% rate applies to income up to $9,525, the 12% rate applies to income over $9,525 up to $38,700, the 22% rate applies to income over $38,700 up to $82,500, and so on through the top rate of 37% on income over $500,000. For married couples filing jointly, the brackets are wider: the 12% rate applies to income over $19,050 up to $77,400, the 22% rate applies to income over $77,400 up to $165,000, continuing through 37% on income over $600,000. The Tax Rate Schedules published by the IRS show how these marginal rates apply across all levels of taxable income, but they are not used to compute the actual tax owed. Understanding that these rates are marginal, not flat, helps taxpayers accurately estimate their liability and recognize that reaching a higher bracket does not mean all their income is taxed at that higher rate.
The Tax Rate Schedules are shown so you can see the tax rate that applies to all levels of taxable income. Don’t use them to figure your tax.
Publication 17 (2018), Your Federal Income Tax (IRS)
Below $100,000 you look the tax up, above it you compute it
The rate schedule is not how most people actually figure the tax. Below $100,000 of taxable income you read the amount out of the Tax Table, which is built in narrow income bands and already has the rates applied, so the figure you copy is the tax itself and not a rate to multiply by. At $100,000 or over the table stops and you use the Tax Computation Worksheet instead, which applies the bracket arithmetic directly. The answers agree to within rounding; the table simply pre-computes it. This matters when you check a return against the brackets on this page and find a difference of a few dollars either way. That is the table's banding, not an error - the table taxes the midpoint of the band your income falls in rather than the exact figure.
$100,000 or over use the Tax Computation Worksheet
Publication 17 (2018), Your Federal Income Tax (IRS)
Filing as head of household while still married
A married person in the United States can file as head of household in 2018 — rather than as married filing separately — only if the IRS treats them as "considered unmarried" on the last day of the tax year. You meet that status only if you satisfy every one of five tests. You must file a separate return (married filing separately, single, or head of household). You must have paid more than half the cost of keeping up your home for the year. Your spouse must not have lived in your home during the last six months of the year, except for temporary absences due to special circumstances. Your home must have been the main home of your child, stepchild, or foster child for more than half the year. And you must be able to claim the child as a dependent, with a limited exception when the noncustodial parent claims the child under the special rules for divorced or separated parents. If any one of these tests is not met, you are treated as married for the whole year and cannot use the head of household rates, even if you lived apart from your spouse for most of 2018.
You are consid- ered unmarried on the last day of the tax year if you meet all the following tests.
Publication 17 (2018), Your Federal Income Tax (IRS)
What a joint return makes each spouse liable for
When a married couple files a joint federal return, both spouses are jointly and individually responsible for the entire tax, plus any interest and penalties, shown on that return. This means the IRS can collect the full amount from either spouse, even if all the income was earned by only one of them. If one spouse fails to pay the tax due, the other spouse may have to. If one spouse underreports income, both may be held responsible for the additional tax the IRS later assesses. This joint responsibility continues even after a divorce: a joint return filed before the divorce leaves both former spouses liable for any tax, interest, and penalties due on it. Because of this exposure, the IRS notes that a couple may want to file separately if one spouse suspects the other is not reporting all of their income, or if one spouse does not want to be responsible for any taxes due when the other does not have enough tax withheld or does not pay enough estimated tax. Relief from joint responsibility may be available in certain cases, such as innocent spouse relief.
Joint responsibility. Both of you may be held responsible, jointly and individually, for the tax and any interest or penalty due on your joint re- turn. This means that if one spouse doesn't pay the tax due, the other may have to. Or, if one spouse doesn't report the correct tax, both spouses may be responsible for any additional taxes assessed by the IRS. One spouse may be held responsible for all the tax due even if all the income was earned by the other spouse.
Publication 17 (2018), Your Federal Income Tax (IRS)
The income these brackets do not tax
The 2018 tax brackets apply to ordinary income such as wages and salaries, but long-term capital gains and qualified dividends are taxed separately at preferential rates. Taxpayers who have qualified dividends or net capital gains must use the Qualified Dividends and Capital Gain Tax Worksheet or the Schedule D Tax Worksheet to compute their tax, rather than the regular tax tables or computation worksheet. These special worksheets apply lower rates to the capital gains and dividends portion of income while applying the ordinary bracket rates to the remaining income. The preferential rates for capital gains and qualified dividends are lower than the ordinary rates of 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, and 37% that apply to ordinary income. As a result, a taxpayer whose income consists entirely of long-term capital gains or qualified dividends may owe less tax than a taxpayer with the same amount of ordinary income, and in some cases may owe no tax at all even at income levels where the ordinary brackets reach the top rate of 37%.
If you have qualified dividends, you must fig- ure your tax by completing the Qualified Divi- dends and Capital Gain Tax Worksheet in the Form 1040 instructions or the Schedule D Tax Worksheet in the Schedule D (Form 1040) in- structions, whichever applies.
Publication 17 (2018), Your Federal Income Tax (IRS)
How each figure was verified
Each number below was read from a stored copy of the document named beside it, and checked to occur word for word in the quoted sentence. The digest is of that stored text.
Rev. Proc. 2018-18 (Internal Revenue Bulletin 2018-10) (IRS)
- 12% rate
Over $19,050 but not over $77,400 $1,905 plus 12% of the excess over $19,050
- 12% rate, married couples
Over $19,050 but not over $77,400 $1,905 plus 12% of the excess over $19,050
- 22% rate
Over $77,400 but not over $165,000 $8,907 plus 22% of the excess over $77,400
- 22% rate, married couples
Over $77,400 but not over $165,000 $8,907 plus 22% of the excess over $77,400
- 24% rate
Over $165,000 but not over $315,000 $28,179 plus 24% of the excess over $165,000
- 24% rate, married couples
Over $165,000 but not over $315,000 $28,179 plus 24% of the excess over $165,000
- 32% rate
Over $315,000 but not over $400,000 $64,179 plus 32% of the excess over $315,000
- 32% rate, married couples
Over $315,000 but not over $400,000 $64,179 plus 32% of the excess over $315,000
- 35% rate
Over $400,000 but not over $600,000 $91,379 plus 35% of the excess over $400,000
- 35% rate, married couples
Over $400,000 but not over $600,000 $91,379 plus 35% of the excess over $400,000
- Top rate
Over $600,000 $161,379 plus 37% of the excess over $600,000
- 37% rate, married couples
Over $600,000 $161,379 plus 37% of the excess over $600,000
- 10% rate
Not over $19,050 10% of the taxable income
- 12% rate, single taxpayers
TABLE 3 - Section 1(c) – Unmarried Individuals (other than Surviving Spouses and Heads of Households) If Taxable Income Is: The Tax Is: Not over $9,525 10% of the taxable income Over $9,525 but not over $38,700 $952.50 plus 12% of the excess over $9,525
- 22% rate, single taxpayers
TABLE 3 - Section 1(c) – Unmarried Individuals (other than Surviving Spouses and Heads of Households) If Taxable Income Is: The Tax Is: Not over $9,525 10% of the taxable income Over $9,525 but not over $38,700 $952.50 plus 12% of the excess over $9,525 Over $38,700 but not over $82,500 $4,453.50 plus 22% of the excess over $38,700
- 24% rate, single taxpayers
TABLE 3 - Section 1(c) – Unmarried Individuals (other than Surviving Spouses and Heads of Households) If Taxable Income Is: The Tax Is: Not over $9,525 10% of the taxable income Over $9,525 but not over $38,700 $952.50 plus 12% of the excess over $9,525 Over $38,700 but not over $82,500 $4,453.50 plus 22% of the excess over $38,700 Over $82,500 but not over $157,500 $14,089.50 plus 24% of the excess over $82,500
- 32% rate, single taxpayers
TABLE 3 - Section 1(c) – Unmarried Individuals (other than Surviving Spouses and Heads of Households) If Taxable Income Is: The Tax Is: Not over $9,525 10% of the taxable income Over $9,525 but not over $38,700 $952.50 plus 12% of the excess over $9,525 Over $38,700 but not over $82,500 $4,453.50 plus 22% of the excess over $38,700 Over $82,500 but not over $157,500 $14,089.50 plus 24% of the excess over $82,500 Over $157,500 but not over $200,000 $32,089.50 plus 32% of the excess over $157,500
- 35% rate, single taxpayers
Over $200,000 but not over $500,000 $45,689.50 plus 35% of the excess over $200,000
- 37% rate, single taxpayers
Over $500,000 $150,689.50 plus 37% of the excess over $500,000